
I have been prepping in some fashion since I was little (3 onwards), as I always hid stashes of food around the house. A little later on when I learnt that Edinburgh castle sat on a volcanic plug to my 9 year old mind just because it was extinct now didn't mean there wasn't another "hole" for the lava to come up, so I actually gathered a bag and dedicated it my earthquake supplies (but I would have used for any emergency). My entire family took great amusement out of this and mocked me for years. (For the record even Dynamic Earth when I asked them if there was a chance of a eruption as if there was once a crack there could be another - couldn't answer the question, which was very frustrating! - I know better know though...)

Then when I became a teen and all the zombie movies seemed to come out, I reviewed & upgraded my bag to my "Zombie Supply Kit". This was also in part to wind up my family for continuously mocking me. It kinda worked, they stopped mentioning it as much but did exchange strange looks. I went from being considered slightly odd to full blown weird.

By that time we had moved up to Scotland. Several years later I was commuting most days on the train to Inverness for my course. If you didn't know before Scottish weather is mostly unpredictable, or it seems that way as the weatherman struggles to get it right. Oh and the other thing about Scotland is it usually rains at some point every day. But I like the rain and if you're properly prepared then it isn't really an issue.
But travelling from one county to another just wow. Complete and utter different spectrums of the weather. I could go from warm and comfortable one end to freezing and wet/sleet/snowmush at Inverness or vice a versa. So you had to wear the right gear, layer up so you can layer down, (college heating in the old building was rubbish too) and have supplies for any delays, which could have been college or train related. It never failed to amuse me how little my friends took with them and they were constantly borrowing stuff. It was frustrating because I was like - ITS SCOTLAND RAIN IS EXPECTED, IT SNOWS IN THE SUMMER SO PREPARE THAT TOO, also please stop whining TRAINS GET DELAYED.

10 years later...
Still non of my family get it, call me strange etc but I don't understand how they can't get it.
Recently I started collecting enough water for 3 days with a little contingency on top of that because knowing my roommate they will undoubtedly hand out our supplies as soon as the water stops or the power goes down. I have a moral dilemma there as I want to help people but at the same time, I choose to spend my money to be prepared to protect me and my roommate, I can't afford to do it for the entire village and they could buy less designer cars and prep themselves. That mentality helps with the justification but I don't know how I would stick to it.
I have food, and heat alternatives, enough for 3 days which i will gradually increase (limited storage though) but I NEED to look at alternative power source perhaps solar power if I could DIY for cheap.

My next main goals are:

I am preparing for a broad spectrum really. From powercuts to the water being shut off in emergencies, being snowed in (all which have happened in the last couple of years to me) car beak downs to more scary scenarios like a viral infection (like influenza, WHO are actually concerned that we will have another pandemic at some point) to EMP/solar flare (no volcanoes round here luckily - haha?) to economic collapse. I am not violent though, I would like to know how to survive and basic self-defence so I can disarm and get away but I am not interested in the other violent stuff, like in doomsday preppers, my strategy would be to evade & hide.
I can't change much about where I currently live as it isn't mine, but I hope to save up for my own or have enough vital skills to be able to transfer to another group if something was for a longer-time.


I am really excited, because now I know i'm not alone (I think) and I'm hoping to improve my knowledge and maybe make a few friends to go over some basic equipment and how to utilise it.
I hope this gives you an idea about me, please message me if you feel we could help each other become more prepared
